Bearing for electric meters.



E EL- 10 METERS.

P. BEARING FOR APPLICATION FILED JULYl 1910 Patented July 21, 1914.

lnvnnor Paul E biq, bymflflm His Attorney.

itnessas hurra srarns PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL EIBIG, or nrnnnn-scnoivnausnn, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, ACORPORATION on NEW YORK.

BEARING FOR ntnccrnro METERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1, 1910. Serial No. 569,871.

To all whom, it may concern 1 7 Be it known that I, PAULEIBIG, a sub ectof the Emperor of Germany, residing at Nieder-Schiinhausen, Germany,have in-.

vented certain new and useful Improvements in Bearlngs for ElectricMeters, of which the following is a specification.

, this chamber, which may be filled with oil,

extends a stationary pivot which bears against a suitable plate or otherdevice affixed to the meter shaft. The upper end of this pivot isrigidly held by any suitable means. Such bearings are shown in GermanPatents Nos. 129,363 and 160,893, and

my invention has for its object an improvement in these devices, wherebythe pivot may be made extremely thin, to reduce the bearing friction toa minimum, and yet be able to sustain without injury any shock to whichthe meter may be exposed, and thus insure a safe transport of theinstrument. I accomplish the object of my invention by providing thepivot with an elastic support so that for a vertical or horizontal movement of the shaft the pivot may have a corresponding movement and thusall danger I of its bending or breaking is removed.

For a further understanding of my invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing which is a vertical view partly in section, and ona large scale, of my improved form of bearing, the upper portion only ofthe meter shaft being shown,

- as my invention may be applied to any form of meter.

1 is a rotatable shaft which has fastened to its upper end a member 2 inwhich is a chamber 3 containing oil. Inclosing this chamber at its upperend is a dust-tight shell 4. Extending through the shell and into thechamber, and substantially co-axial with the shaft, is a pivot pin 5which is so arranged that it enters the oil in the chamber. Attached tomember 2 is a plate 6 which surrounds the pivot and bearsagainst it inthe well-known manner,-and thus forms a bearing surface for the upperend of the shaft that is almost frictionless. .Attached to the upper endof the pivot is a head 7 which fits into a recess 8 formed in thestationary member 9. This head and the pivot are normally heldstationary by the spring 10, one end of which is fastened to thestationary member 9. Member 9 is shown as formed with a hole or recess11 surrounding a portion of member 2. I

The pivot under normal conditions will be held as shown, but if for anyreason the shaft is given a horizontal movement, due to shock or anyother cause, the head 7 is capable of tipping up on one edge untilmember 2 rests against the stationary member 9. The shaftwill then befixed in position and all possibilities of injury or breakage to thepivot will be avoided. For a vertical movement of the shaft the entirehead 7 will lift up, thus also preventing injuries to the pivot. i

WVhile I have described a preferred embodiment of my. invention, I donot limit myself to this embodiment, but aim in the appended claims tocover all embodiments which will be obvious to those skilled in the artand which are within the scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is,'-

1. An upper bearing for an electric meter comprising in combination arotatable memher having a chamber in its upper end, a statlonary memberhavlng a recess surrounding said chamber, a pivot pin extend comprisingin combination a rotatable shaft,

an oil containing chamber at the upper end of said shaft, a stationarymember having a recess surrounding the wall of said chamber, a pivot pinsubstantially co-axial with said chamber, a head. resting on thestationary support a pivot pin secured to said head and extending intosaid chamber and normally holding the chamber out of engagement with thesupport, and elastic means for maintaining the head on the support.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of June,1910.

PAUL EIBIG.

Witnesses WVOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HAsPnn.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Cemmissioner of ZPatents,

Washington, D. C.

